Artificial Intelligence: Reward or Risk? Part 2 of 2

In Part 1, we explored the many benefits of AI – how it enhances our daily lives, democratizes healthcare, and accelerates science. Today, we’ll turn the lens to the challenges: the ethical, social, and security dilemmas that come with this technology. And most importantly, we’ll ask: How can we ensure AI evolves hand in hand with our ethical and spiritual growth?

At its core, AI is only as good as the data it learns from, and that data comes from us – our societies, our histories, our imperfections. When an AI system is trained on biased data, it can replicate and even amplify those biases. Another major concern is the impact of AI on jobs. Automation is already replacing routine tasks, from factory lines to customer service chatbots. And it’s not just about work. Countries that lead in AI may pull far ahead of those that lag, widening global inequality.

AI thrives on data. The more it knows about us, the better it can predict, recommend, and automate – but that comes at a cost: privacy. If you’ve seen a deepfake video, you know how convincing AI-generated media can be – a politician saying words they never spoke, a celebrity in a scene they never filmed. The line between reality and fabrication is blurring fast. An example of a deepfake is when you take a video that’s been recorded on a phone and you can do a face swap. So far, we’ve focused on immediate challenges, but many experts also warn of long-term, even existential risks.

Egyptian software engineer Mo Gawdat reminds us that the values we choose, and the way we direct this tool, will determine the outcome. “If you really think about it, there is no inherent value of negative or positive in AI. As a matter of fact, I always say that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with AI. There is a bit wrong with the value set of humanity at the age of the rise of the machines.”

Our Most Insightful Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) has also voiced deep concern about where unchecked development could lead. “It could happen with the AI, if scientists continue developing and developing, and just continue exploring further into the robotics field, just to see how far they can go and what’s next without thinking. It could be one day be a catastrophe for humanity. Plus, it's very possible that if we’re not careful enough to develop within the limit, just to make it useful and helpful, and overdoing it so that they become super-intelligent – then it becomes like our brain, and then they’ll do what they want, just like our brain tells us sometimes to do what we want. And it’s not good even what we want to do. And it becomes a habit. Our brain dictates to us what to do, and it becomes a habit, good or bad. And the artificial intelligence could be that way too.”